Greeting card or folder



Sept 9 A. BARKER l GREETING CARD OR FOLDER 2,609,639

Filed Nov. 29 1950 Patented Sept. 9, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE" GREEIINGrl CARD B. FOLDER Alvin Barker, Cincinnati, Qhio.

Application November 29, 195.0.. SerialNlm 198;,201.

5. Claims.. (Cl. 46h34.):

This invention relates to greeting cards or folders and has for its principal object the provision of a foldable card having a movable element overlying an inner face that is animated by the relative. movements of the foldablefcard sections.

It is another object of the present invention to provide in a greeting card or folder having two hinged sections, a rotatable element imposed upon theinner face of one section and actuated by a novel, simplified means'that is associated with the sections. and effective particularly when the greeting card or folder is being opened to actuate the said element.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specication and the accompanying drawing which illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention, it being understood that the invention is not limited to the particular 'structure disclosed exceptv in so far as set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of. my greeting card or folder shown in opened condition.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l. i

Fig. 3 is a view showing one section of the card of Figs. 1 and 2 in plan and the other card section in edgewise section, the inner panel of the rst mentioned section being broken away to show the underlying parts of the actuator for the animated element of the card.

My invention is particularly applicable to greeting cards but may be incorporated in advertising folders and other novelty devices. As illustrated in the drawings the numerals 6 and 1 indicate two card sections hinged together at 3 and foldable thereon into overlapping faceto-face relationship. The card is preferably formed from a single piece of paper stock which is folded centrally on a longitudinal fold line 9 to provide hinged outer display panels IIB and II for the sections 6 and 1 respectively, and hinged inner display panels I 2 and I3 respectively for said sections. The section 6 has a stiiiening, intermediate ply I4 adhesively secured at spaced apart points to the inner faces of the panels It and I2 whilst the section 1 has a foreshortened, intermediate ply I'5 adhesively secured to, and reenforcing the outermost portion of said sections with respect to the card hinge.

A foldable gusset I6 is disposed centrally of the hinge 8 in the inside of the card, and is formed by making two laterally spaced slits I'I and I3 in the panels I2 and I3 and each having equal extension on opposite sides ofy the hinge 8. The material of the inner panels I2 and I3 is turned outwardly on fold lines I^9 and 2li respectively to form gusset flaps 2l and 22 for the panels, said naps being joined by a hinge 23 opposed to the card'hinge 8.

A movable element 2y4 overlies one of the inner faces ofA the card, such as the inner face for the illustrated panel I2, the element having an illustration 25 printed on its exposed face in keeping with a suitable motif depicted on the faces of the inner and outer panels of the card. The elementl comprises a flat piece of cardboard 26, or the like, and is located at the mid-portion of the panel i2.

As best shown in 2 and 3 the means for animating the movable element 24 by the relative opening movements of ythe card sections 6 and 1 comprises a wooden pulley 21 rotatably mounted on the intermediate ply I4 by a rivet 28, said pulley extending through an annular opening 29l formed in the inner panel I2. The central portion of the movable element 2li is adhesively secured to the outerface of the pulley and is of suiiicientsize tc conceal from view both the pulley 21 and the'panel opening 29. A cord 30 has an intermediate portion encircling the pulley 21, one end 3l thereof being freely disposed between the panel I2 and the reinforcing ply I4 ('Fig. 2) and extending diagonally across the interior ofthe foldable gusset I6 from the flap fold line I9 of section 6 to a point subjacent the ap fold line 20 vwhere it is anchored at 32 tothe reenforcing ply I5 for section 1. The opposite end 33 of the cord is secured by a knot 34 to a contractile member which may take the form of a rubber band 35. The band is suitably fastened to the reenforcing ply It byentering opposed portions thereof into spaced slots 38 and 31 formed in the free outer edge of said ply,

one straight reach 38 of the band being located between the said ply and the outer panel Ill, whilst the operative card engaging reach 39 of said band is movable between the panel I2 and the ply- I4' and maintained under constant tension by its attachment to the cord 3l).

In use the card or folder is normally in a flat condition with the sections B and 1 folded on each other so that the inner panels are brought into face-to-face relationship. As best seen from Fig. 2 the fiat condition of the card or folder will bring flap 22 of the gusset I6 into engagement with a portion of the panel I3 whilst gusset fiap 2| will engage a portion of the panel I2, the cord anchor 32 lying adjacent the flap fold line I9 3 for section 6. Also the cord will be held in resilient contracted position by the rubber band 35, said band exerting a force on said cord which will maintain the cord in tension and eiect a good frictional connection between it and the pulley 2l'. As the sections 6 and 1 are opened by relative movement around the hinge B, the cord anchor 32 is moved in a circle with hinge 8 as its center whereby the cord will be moved angularly with respect to they section` (i from its' closed position near the fold line I9 to its opened position shown in Fig. 2. move axially with respect to section 6 to rotate the pulley 21 and animate the element 24 to give a novel effect when the card is opened. Movement of the cord as the card sections are opened Y stretches the reach 39 of the rubber band 35 to the position shown in Fig. 3 whilst closing of the said sections will allow the reach to return to a position nearly paralleling that of the reach 33 whereby the cord is returned to its initial operative position. v;-

What is claimed is: Y. Y 1. A greeting card comprising two Vsections having their adjacent edges secured together by a hinge portion and foldable thereonm'into overlapping relation, a movable element `pivotally mounted on one section -for rotation on an axis normal to the plane of said section, a contractile means secured to the outer portion of said section, an actuating cordghaving an intermediate portion secured toa part of the element beyond the pivot and one end fixed to the contractile means, and means for anchoring the free end of the cord to a part of the remainingsection, at a point removed from the hinge.- l,

2. A greeting card comprising two sections having their adjacent edges secured together by a central hinge portion and foldable thereoninto overlapping relationship, a `pulley Y rotatably mounted on the central portion of the innerside of one section for rotation on' an axis normal to the plane of said section, an animated element mounted on the pulley, a resilient tensioning and return means fixed to theouter portion of said section, a cord encircling the pulley and having one end secured to the resilient means, means for anchoring the opposite end of the cord to the remaining card section at a point removed from the hinge portion, and a sheet secured to the inner side of the rst mentioned section and overlying the tensioning means and a substantial length of the cord up to a cord portion located between the pulley and thehingeportion of the card sections. l 3. 1n an article of the class described comprising an illustrated sheet folded around a hinge to form two -sections each having two plies, an intermediate stiffening plyor each section, a foldable gusset kformed by free central portions of the inner plies' of the sections adjacent the hinge, an opening formed in the central portion of the inner ply of one section, an animated element overlying said ply and having a portion extending through the opening in the ply for pivotal connection with the intermediateV ply for said section, acontractilemeans afxedto the outer portion'of said intermediate ply, a cord se- This movement causes the cord to 4 cured to said means and connected at an intermediate portion to the element, the free end of said cord passing between the said plies and across the opposite corners of the gusset, and means for anchoring the said cord end to the intermediate ply of the remaining section at a point thereon removed from the hinge.

4. In an article of the class described comprising an illustrated sheet folded around a hinge to form two sections each having two plies, an intermediate stiffening ply for each section, a ioldable gusset formed by free central portions of the inner plies adjacent the hinge, a pulley rotatably mounted on a central portion of the intermediate ply of one section, an opening formed in the inner ply of said section for receiving the pulley, an animated element mounted on the pulley and overlapping the said ply and the said opening therein, a resilient tensioning means xed to the outer portion of said ply, a cord encircling the pulley and having one end secured to the resilient tensioning means, the other end of the cord extending between the inner and stiffening plies of said section and acrossV the opposite corners of the foldable gusset, and means for anchoring said cord end to the intermediate ply of the remaining section at a point removed from the hinge.

5. In an article of the class described comprising an illustratedsheet folded around a hinge to form two sections 'each having two plies, an intermediate stiiening ply for each section, a pair of laterally spaced slits formed in the inner plies, said slits straddling the hinge to form outwardly extending gusset panels hinged at their cuter ends and secured to the inner plies by fold lines extending laterally between theends of the slits, a pulley rotatably mounted on the central portion of the intermediate ply of "one section, an opening in the inner ply of said section for the pulley, an animated element mounted on the pulley and overlying the said'ply and the said opening therein, a resilient tensioning means fixed to the outer portion of said intermediate ply, a cord encircling the pulley and having one end secured to the resilient tensioning means, the other end of said cord extending between the inner ply and intermediate ply of said section andacross the foldable gusset from one gusset fold line to a point subjacent the other gusset fold line, and means for anchoring the cord end to the intermediate ply of the remaining section at a point removed from the hinge for the sections. Y

ALVIN BARKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are oi' record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,111,179 Dillard Mar. 15, 1938 2,171,656 Kislevitz Sept. 5, i939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 321,369 Great Britain Nov. 7, 1929 

